Roy and Riza: Year One
by ssadropout
Summary: Arakawa has not, as of yet, told us much about Roy's tenure as Riza's father's student. However, the events that occur years later indicate that Riza and Roy must have made great impressions on each other. So, how did their relationship develop?
1. Chapter 1

A/N- I do not own _Fullmetal Alchemist_, and that's the truth! The immensely talented Hiromu Arakawa (or Arakawa Hiromu!) does.

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The new student had arrived at the decaying Hawkeye house two weeks before. Riza hadn't seen that much of the boy as her father had been monopolizing his time. She had served them meals in her father's study. The student and alchemist were always either there or in the laboratory. Riza's father had told her that she must awake before them to prepare their morning meal. Obedient daughter that she was- did she have any choice in the matter? - she did so. She had no idea how late they stayed up at night or into the morning.

In that small and secret place inside of her, the one where she hid her desires and other …weaknesses, she had hoped that a new presence in the house- it wasn't a home since her mother died- would change things. Having a friend in the house, even just someone who paid her any attention at all, would go a long way toward easing her loneliness. The boy wasn't that much older than she, and he wasn't intimidating. He wasn't a big kid. Those dark eyes and hair against his pale skin made him look frail to her. Her father had told her to address the student as "Mr. Mustang". It amused her that his family name was also related to animals. But the routine that had settled on the Hawkeye house had just seemed to cause more work and no companionship for her.

This day had been following the usual pattern. She had prepared and served breakfast, which required that she clean up after her father and the boy and wash the dishes. After that, she did laundry. Next came lunch and the cleanup for that. She then straightened up the house. Her father rarely used any room except for his study, lab, and bedroom, but he insisted that she keep the house in meticulous order anyway. The time to prepare dinner quickly arrived. How could a day be so full and yet so boring?

She had served dinner to the alchemist and student, and after she ate standing up in the kitchen, she went into the study and collected the dishes, being careful to not disturb the scholars. She had rinsed the dishes and stacked them in the sink when Mr. Mustang trotted into the room with a small smile on his face. _What a beautiful boy!_ she thought. She was about to ask him what she could do for him when-

"Should I wash or dry, Miss Hawkeye?" he asked. She realized that he had already rolled up his sleeves.

"Oh. Thank you, but I couldn't accept your help, Mr. Mustang. You are Father's student. A guest in the house." She couldn't help but let her shock show.

"Oh, please, Miss Hawkeye." He waved a pale thin hand in dismissal. "I totally love learning alchemy, but my brain needs a rest, and my body needs an uncomplicated chore to do. Your father is a real taskmaster, but I see that you know that _much_ better than I do. He's a brilliant man, and I am incredibly lucky to be here, but I wasn't sure that I'd survive his trial period," Mustang sighed.

She handed him a dishtowel, thereby answering his question. "I didn't realize that you were on trial," she told her surprising new assistant.

"Well, I had to demonstrate to him that I was worthy of being his student. He wanted to see how quickly I could grasp things and if I could retain them. I think that I've learned more arrays and theories in the past two weeks than in the entire time up until then! And I used to study during every second of my free time. Well, most of my free time." He winked at her with a sparkling inky eye. "Anyway, I am honored that he has deemed me to be worthy of his time and effort. It was probably by the skin of my teeth. Your father is amazing. I'm so happy that he's taking me on."

"Congratulations," she told him. "You are my father's first and only student, Mr. Mustang. You must be pretty amazing yourself."

He shrugged his skinny shoulders. "Anyway, I'm sorry that I haven't helped you before. I just haven't had a chance. From now on, your father is just going to tutor me during the day unless we're doing something where we can't stop. I'll have a schedule and free time. Free time! I'll still want to study a lot, but I can help around the house some and maybe even get out to meet people. And please call me "Roy," at least when Teacher is not around." He rolled his eyes. "Mr. Mustang! I'm just a kid. I can't be too much older than you."

She actually giggled, making him break into an adorable grin. "I'm 'Riza,' but we can't let him catch us calling each other by our given names or we'll be in big trouble." She _never_ defied her father, but having a partner in crime would make it fun, as long as they didn't get caught. A mini mutiny! The idea thrilled her.

He nodded vigorously, causing his shaggy black hair to flip, flop, and fly in all directions. She watched out of the corner of her eye as she continued to scrub a plate.

"So, Riza. I know that you don't have much free time, but what do you like to do when it's your choice? I've noticed you carrying books that didn't look like alchemy books. Has your father taught you any of the science? Do you like to read?"

She glanced into the sink and realized that all of the dishes had been washed. Mr. Mus- Roy was nearly done with the drying. She'd never felt sad to complete a chore before. She couldn't think of an excuse to keep him with her to tell him about her reading and interests.

"If you've got any chocolate," Roy interrupted her thoughts, "I, at the risk of sounding conceited, know how to brew the tastiest hot chocolate ever. Do you have time to sit and talk for a little while?"

She allowed herself a small smile and had no idea that it made him sad that he hadn't seen any expression that wasn't super serious on her face until this evening. "The chocolate is on the top shelf of that cabinet there, Roy."

Top shelves in that high-ceilinged kitchen were far out of reach for even tall adults. That's why they kept a ladder in the far corner. (At the time, she thought that he must not have noticed it, but years later, after she had learned that he always noticed _everything_, she figured out that he had been trying to impress her. She had laughed when she realized that, because, having witnessed accomplished alchemy all of her life, she had been much more impressed with the hot chocolate.) He smirked and pulled a stick of chalk from his pocket. He sketched a transmutation circle on the floor. The floor began to bulge, and the bulge formed into a seat. He jumped onto the seat as it continued its rise. When it stopped, he was right on level with the correct shelf. He grabbed the chocolate out of the cabinet and the floor chair began to sink. He jumped off before it got too low, and then the floor was normal again. He scuffed out the chalk circle.

Riza was still feeling shy with him as they sat down to drink. It embarrassed her that a guest was trying to make her feel more comfortable in her father's house. He asked her again about her reading and whatever else interested her.

"This is a little embarrassing," she began. "I like to read just about anything except for alchemy texts! I have absolutely no interest in alchemy whatsoever. At all!" Her voice had gotten a bit strident, and Roy sensed that the reasons behind her dislike of the topic were dark and deep. He commented, "Hey. That works out for me! I probably wouldn't be here studying with one of the great alchemists of our time if you had been interested! He'd be too busy with you to take me on." He'd meant to comfort her, because her dislike of learning alchemy clearly disturbed her. Unfortunately, his words made her reflect over the fact that if she _had _shown an interest in alchemy, her father might have shown an interest in her.

"So what does interest you?" he asked again, trying un-cloud her huge red-brown eyes.

She snapped herself out of her brood and turned back to the boy. "I really do like to read nearly everything else. I like current events, history, mystery, romance, and especially adventure. I love books where the heroine has trial after adventure after exploit. Probably because nothing exciting ever happens to me. It's important that no matter what happens to her, the heroine always is strong and clever enough to make it through and find happiness.

"But I can't tell you what interests me most. I'd have to _show _you!"

"So, will you?" Roy asked. He was a curious boy, and Riza's cryptic remark had intrigued him.

"I can't do it here. We'd have to go out into the woods. And you can never, never, never tell Father. Do you swear?"

_Curiouser and curiouser _he thought. "What swear would you except as proof that I won't betray you?" He didn't believe in a deity to swear by or a good book to swear on, so he didn't offer to use those for his vow. He wanted it to mean something.

"Blood swear!" she demanded. He nodded.

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A/N- Thank you for reading. We all know what interests Riza, but what will Roy think of her obsession? Does anything else happen in the woods? I don't know everything that happens next, because Riza and Roy have only told me some of it. I hope that they tell me more. I hope that some of you want to know, too. Please, please, please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**- ramenwriter15, I tried to answer your review question privately, but I am not sure that my message went out to you. I decided to have Roy be 15 and Riza be 13 when they first meet. I see that you have them be younger (in Riza's journal) in your very funny story _An Out Of Body Experience_. (Plug!) I like that, too. Then they'd grow up with a bit of a brother/sister vibe that could develop into a very different relationship. (Luv Royai!) I went with 15, because it seems like a good age to become an alchemy student or apprentice. I dunno. Maybe Arakawa will tell us some day.

Vague spoilers for Chapter 87. Beware!

You know the drill. I've been told I have cow eyes, but I am no Hiromu Arakawa. That means that I don't own FMA. I hope that I honor Arakawa with my tale.

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The next day, when Roy went to meet Mr. Hawkeye in the study, he found his teacher already engrossed in a project. Hawkeye had several tomes opened and scattered over the table, and he was frantically writing in a journal. Roy stood quietly for several minutes, not wanting to interrupt his teacher. When Hawkeye paused in his scratchy note making to consult one of the texts, Roy tentatively whispered, "Sir?"

"Go away, boy. I don't have time for you right now. Study on your own today. Read Swift's thesis on inorganic catalysts and report on it tomorrow," Hawkeye distractedly and grouchily mumbled, not even lifting his head.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Roy bowed to his teacher and backed out of the study even though Hawkeye was not paying any attention to him. Once in the hallway, he made a little joyous jump, clicking his heels together and went off to track Riza down. He hadn't noticed any food in the study, so he proceeded to the kitchen. Riza was there, looking a bit miffed.

"My father was up earlier than I was today. He yelled at me for not having breakfast ready and again when I tried to serve him. He said that it was too late. He couldn't eat after he had gotten started," she complained. "How was I to know that he'd be getting up early?"

"There was no way. You're not a mind reader. He shouldn't have yelled at you," Roy replied. "Did you eat yet?" Riza shook her head. "Well, I'm hungry. Your father threw me out of his study, too. Let's eat together. What have you got?"

It was only oatmeal again, but Riza had added nuts and raisins to it, so it was not so bad. She had also made a pot of coffee that was filling the room with a warm and stimulating aroma. Roy knew where the flatware was stored from his stint as dish dryer, so he set the table for two. "Is your father like this very often?" Roy asked Riza.

"Often enough," she complained. "I have trouble doing what he wants when I know what he expects from me. When he acts like this, I don't even know what to try to do." Her always sad eyes looked more so.

Roy patted her hand as he thought about this for a minute. "Well, there's not much you can do, huh. I think that your having food and coffee for ready for him now is about it. Keep the stuff warm. Maybe leave something that's good at room temperature outside the study door with a note that there's oatmeal and coffee in the kitchen. I know that his mood has got to be tough on you, but if you get lemons, make lemonade!"

"What have you got in mind?"

"Well, your father gave me a reading and reporting assignment today. I can do a lot of that in the woods. It's a pretty day. This will give you a chance to show me that mysterious thing that you are so passionate about." He held up his finger to display the cut that he had made with one of the kitchen knives. "I did blood swear to you."

She was embarrassed that he had said _passion_. The word made her think of love and sex, not that she knew much about either. But, she thought, she does love doing it. Alchemy was her father's passion, though maybe her mother had been at one time. This new activity that she had discovered was hers. She'd rather do it than anything else, although spending time with Roy was fun. "Okay. As long as I'm back in time to make lunch. I'll put that I had to go out in the note to my father. Meet me at the front door in fifteen minutes."

Roy snapped a salute at her and ran into the living room where he hoped the volume on Swift's thesis was being kept in one of the bookcases. He didn't want to go back into the teacher's study if he could possibly avoid it. He was in luck! He grabbed the book and raced up the steps to his room. Riza admired what seemed like his boundless energy. He moved so quickly. _He must not have a lazy bone in his body_ she thought.

Riza wrote her father a note and prepared his tray. She covered it and placed it to the left of the closed door to the study. She went up to her room, changed her clothes, and placed some items into a backpack. She swung it over her shoulders and inserted her arms though the loopy straps. The bathroom door was closed, indicating where Roy was, so she just went down the steps and waited for him at the front door. He came down about three minutes later and did a comic double take when he saw her outfit. She was wearing what must have been an old pair of her father's pants. The girls from home never wore pants. "This is going to be interesting," he smirked. She ignored his annoying comment and led him out the door.

As they hiked up the hill toward the woods, he realized how practical it was for Riza to have worn pants. He trudged up the hill behind her on the narrow path. There were brambles on both sides of the path, and they snagged their clothes as they climbed.

He should have known that she'd be prepared; she seemed like a very sensible girl. Riza had a very pretty face, but she wore her hair short as if she had more important things to do than bother with it. Or was it not enough time to herself to do her hair? The girls back home curled their long hair and wore bows and ribbons. They never paid much attention to him, as he had been one of the "brains" at school, and the girls liked the "bodies." Chris Mustang, the woman who was like a mother to him, kept telling him that he'd get taller and more muscular, and he devoutly hoped she was correct. The books in the library did support what she had said; a lot of boys don't mature until their late teens. As far as he was concerned, maturity couldn't come soon enough. However, he hadn't discounted the possibility that girls would never find him attractive, even if his "sisters" always went on about how cute he was. As he watched Riza climb ahead of him, he decided that pants on girls were more than just practical…

At the top of the hill, the path widened, and Riza paused so that Roy could walk beside her. They hadn't talked much up to that point, allowing Roy to do the musing about girls. As they began to walk side by side, Riza's excitement began to show in her face. She glanced at her watch, as she was nervous about being back for her father, but her eyes were sparkling. She picked up her pace a little, and Roy quickened his to match.

They were in the woods now. The sun's rays broke through the canopy and dappled the mossy ground. "We don't have to go very far in," Riza told Roy. He was glad of that. He really hoped that she knew her way. He wasn't exactly a country boy, so he crossed his fingers that she knew what she was doing. "Do you come here a lot?" he asked her, not a little because he wanted the comfort of hearing that she could do this with her eyes closed.

"I come here whenever I can get away from the house. Sometimes I just eat and read and relax. Now, though, I mostly practice."

"Practice what?" he asked. _A musical instrument? Dramatic recitations? Gymnastics? _he theorized.

"You'll see. Let's set up here," she ordered, and he complied. They had come to a small but lovely clearing. Riza heaved her backpack off and placed it on the ground, and Roy did the same. Roy watched as Riza unzipped her pack and pulled out an old blanket for them to sit on. She also removed a couple of apples that she set on the blanket. The next item that she extracted sharply reflected one of the slanting sunbeams lighting the little glen. Roy squinted to better see what it was. Shocked, he realized that the hard shiny object was a gun. He felt queasy. It wasn't that he wasn't used being around guns. His foster mother would sometimes pull out a pistol and undo the safety when a client got unruly with one of his "sisters", though he had never seen her shoot anyone. But Roy had always liked animals. He refused to perform any alchemical experiments on them. He shut his eyes and silently chanted, "Please no shooting any animals. Please no shooting any animals."

Riza sat near him on the blanket and methodically cleaned, oiled, and then loaded the gun. To Roy's relief, she then pulled a few rocks and some empty dented cans from her sack. She got up and balanced some of the objects on branches and others on a large rock that jutted out of the fertile earth. She handed Roy two globs of wax and showed him how to knead them into softness and place them in his ears. Even with the buffering in his ears, Roy heard the click of the safety being released. Riza then raised the gun with both hands and began firing. Bang bang bang bang bang bang. The cans and rocks went flying from their perches in quick succession.

Roy had been watching Riza in profile, and he didn't think that he had ever seen such a look of concentration on anyone's face before. Actually, maybe he had. Teacher had sort of looked like that this morning. Riza didn't look one iota like her father, but she _looked_ like her father. They both looked like it would take a bomb going off to jolt their concentration.

Riza went to retrieve her targets, so Roy jumped up to help her. "Wow. That was really something. How did you ever learn to do that? And why?" he asked, prying the wax from his ears.

"The gun was my mother's father's gun. I haven't seen him since I was very small. I think that he was in the Army. He may not even be alive. We lost touch with my mother's family after she died. But Grandfather had taught my mother how to shoot when she was young. She never showed me; I was too young when she died. The gun was with her personal belongings. My father stays away from her stuff, so I just take anything of hers when I want it. I think that she'd want me to use her things. It makes me feel closer to her, even though I don't remember much about her."

Roy nodded in sympathy It must be tough for a girl to not have a mother. Had Teacher explained all of that creepy girl stuff to Riza? Roy, who knew all about those things from living with his "sisters," shuddered and hoped that Mr. Hawkeye had not scarred Riza for life. He helped her set up the targets again and then flopped down on the blanket to read about inorganic catalysts. Despite the pops from Riza's shooting, he was able to concentrate, even if he didn't have the Hawkeyes' tunnel vision. Swift's thesis was pretty interesting. After awhile he rolled onto his back, still reading. He glanced up at the sky and noticed that the sun was nearly directly overhead. "Riza! Check your watch," he yelled. The popping stopped. Riza frowned when she saw what time it was. Roy thought that she looked nervous, even though she was emptying the gun as methodically as she had done everything else. Roy sprung up to fetch her targets. He rolled up the blanket and stuffed it in his bag with the book.

Riza set a brisk pace towards the house.

"You shut everything else out when you shoot, don't you?" He turned his dark eyes towards her.

"That's what I like best about it," she replied, still staring straight ahead.

"I liked the woods more than I thought I would. Maybe we could have a picnic for lunch the next time your father gives me a break during the day," he ventured.

"We'll see," she said, but she looked at him to say it, and her eyes were soft.

They scooted down the hill and quietly slipped into the house. It was just as they had left it. The tray that Riza had prepared for her father sat untouched in the hall. She felt bad that he hadn't eaten yet today, but at least she and Roy had not gotten in trouble.

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**A/N**- Riza thinks that Roy doesn't have a lazy bone in his body! Guess she doesn't have a crystal ball.

Thank you, gracias, and merci, etc. for reading. I hope that you enjoyed it. Thanks also for the reviews. They make my day. I love reading your comments! I'll try to continue soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**- Nope. If you're looking for the owner of FMA and the characters, you haven't found her. It's not me.

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Riza and Roy headed for the glen whenever the weather and Mr. Hawkeye (unknowingly!) permitted. Riza sometimes read but usually did target practice. Roy always read, but he took breaks to watch Riza or fool around with little alchemical transformations. They usually packed lunch or apples. Roy had always just bitten into apples, but he had picked up Riza's habit of peeling and cutting off bite-sized pieces. He thought about drawing a circle for peeling and cutting. It was silly, but practicing creating arrays was always worthwhile. Riza and Roy had gotten to know each other pretty well and enjoyed long and comfortable conversations. One of the things that they never discussed was how they saw their relationship. Were they friends, siblings, or something else? When they (individually and privately) thought about being something else, they both came to the same conclusion: No way! Mr. Hawkeye's ire would keep that possibility from being explored.

One day when they were lazing on the blanket in the glen, Riza remarked that she wished there were a way that she could shoot at moving targets. "Not that I ever really want to shoot anyone or anything, but if I did have to shoot someone or something, what are the chances that they'd stand still for me?" she asked rhetorically. She waited. The question did not really demand an answer, but Riza had expected some kind of response from her friend. Roy's unfocused gaze at nothing she could see made Riza think that he wasn't paying any attention to her. She was disappointed that he hadn't heard her, but she wasn't going to intrude. She opened her book and left him to his thoughts. Minutes passed.

"There might be a way," he said.

"A way to what? Where were you, anyway?"

"I was considering your problem. Moving targets. First I was thinking some kind of machine, like a catapult. But that would always propel the target in the same direction. The only variance in the courses would be due to differences in the shape and mass of the projectiles. I can't think of how to make the motion random with a machine. Also, you don't want to have to reload the machine after each shot. So, I switched over to thinking about using alchemy. I think that I could create something that would drive the targets in random arcs, but there wouldn't be perpetual motion. Energy would have to be transferred into the system each time that you used it. Not each shot, but each session. You'd have to learn a transmutation if you wanted to use it when I wasn't here. I could draw you a transmutation circle that you could reuse. It would have to be in a permanent medium- not chalk. It would have to be on something durable that you could carry. Interested?"

_Interested? I could kiss you!_ she thought. "Definitely. Do you think that a girl who hates alchemy could do it?"

"This girl could," he replied pointing at her.

It took him over a week. He developed two arrays. One was to transmute raw material into a machine, and the second was for powering the machine. He was able to get his rough drafts done quickly, but there were delays in polishing the arrays, because Mr. Hawkeye had switched into high gear lesson-wise. Roy and Riza barely got to see each other even in passing. She wondered if he missed being with her the way that she missed being with him. She'd never ask, so she'd never know that he did, even if he was preoccupied with his lessons and project. With Mr. Hawkeye in a teaching frenzy, Roy had given up some of his sleep in order to work on the transmutation circles for Riza. He was satisfied with the array for making the machine, but not the power array. After much trial and error, he thought that he had it. He drew the circles in ink on sheets of paper. The circle to make the machine would only be used once, and there was no point in making a permanent array for the energy until he had verified that it worked properly. He had tested it on a small scale in his bedroom, but it would be useless if it didn't work outdoors and with cans and rocks.

Mr. Hawkeye was pretty much a recluse, but he did enjoy meeting with Sergei Ulganov, another alchemist, twice a year. The two scholars took turns traveling to each other's towns, and usually stayed with their friend for about a week. It was Mr. Hawkeye's turn to travel, and after lecturing the kids with do's, don'ts, and don't-even-think-of-its, he left early the next morning and was gone. Riza had gotten up early to see her father off, but Roy had slept an extra hour to help make up for the nights he had stayed up on Riza's project.

Riza noticed dark circles under Roy's eyes, when he walked into the kitchen, but he seemed to be full of energy and unconcerned about whatever had kept him up at night. She was about to wish him a good morning when he blurted, "I think I have an array that will work for you! I have to try it in the glen, but it works on a small scale."

"When in the world did you have a chance to work on it? You shouldn't have pushed yourself when Father was keeping you so busy," she chided.

"I had to. It had gotten into my head and was gnawing away at me. I won't be able to let it go until I know that it's working properly. It's been fun. I like it when I have an alchemical problem to solve that will help someone. That's what I want to do with my alchemy. Solve problems. We can't really heal people. We don't know how, and human transmutation is not allowed. But we can still help people by solving problems." He stopped talking, because Riza had placed a stack of syrupy pancakes in front of him. After shoving forkfuls of food into his mouth for a couple of minutes, he paused to breathe and say, "You're the best, Riza!"

They finished eating and did the dishes. They had become a formidable dish washing team over the weeks. Riza always washed and Roy dried and put things where they belonged. If something needed to go on a high shelf, he dragged the ladder over, as his level of comfort with her meant that he no longer needed to showboat. Dish washing had oddly become one of their favorite activities.

They decided to get their chores over with first. Mr. Hawkeye was absent in body but not in their minds. They were smart enough to keep their little rebellions to levels that would allow them to complete any tasks the man wanted done. Riza had cleaning, and Roy had reading to do. He wouldn't be able to read in the woods today, because he'd be busy tweaking Riza's new toy. He read at the kitchen table until Riza had finished with the study and then moved into the now-tidy room so that he'd be out of her way. It was close to noon when Riza finished her housekeeping, so that's when Roy took a break. They packed their supplies and locked up the house since not even Mr. Hawkeye would be holding down the fort.

Roy had gone with Riza enough times to know the way to the glen, and he had even gone once by himself. This time, he led the way and waited for Riza at the top of the hill.

Roy had packed some wood that he had scavenged and a hammer that he had found in the Hawkeyes' cellar. He pounded the two boards into the ground near the rock and tree that Riza used to balance her targets. He pulled the paper with the first circle out of his pocket and reviewed in one more time. Roy nodded once, knelt down, and placed the paper on the ground as Riza watched. He placed his hands properly on the symbol and concentrated. Riza smiled as the wood formed into a mechanism. She could see where she'd load the targets and where they'd shoot out. Roy, still on his knees, examined the contraption and seemed to be satisfied. He sighed and said, "And now the hard part."

He pulled the second circle out of his pocket and studied it. He went back to the blanket and pulled out one of the books he had brought with him. He frowned. "I made a little machine that I got to work with wads of paper and loose buttons, but there are a couple parts of this array that I am not sure will be good on this scale. I couldn't find anything helpful in your father's books, so I made most of it up myself." He had wanted to ask Teacher about it, but then Teacher would want to know why, and why was a sworn secret. "Anyway, here goes!"

Roy loaded Riza's rocks and cans into the chamber of the machine. He smoothed out the paper with the power circle and placed it against his creation. He began to place his hands and paused. He wanted to let Riza try it, but he was afraid that something could go wrong and injure her. He sent her to stand behind a tree at the opposite end of the glen. She'd be able to see the result, but she'd be protected from any flying junk. He arranged his hands on the circle and focused. Nothing happened for four seconds, but then there was a creak, and a rock flew up and to the left. Ten seconds later, a can shot out to the right on a steeper course than the rock. Riza came running out from behind the tree, and she flung her arms around Roy. "You're a genius!" Roy hoped that his grin didn't look a stupid as it felt. He placed his hands differently on the circle, and the machine stopped.

"You saw how to load it. This lever regulates the speed. You can slow it down or speed it up. Up is faster; down is slower," he pointed. She nodded. "Now, you have to learn how to use the circle. You have transmuted before, haven't you?" he asked.

"A couple of times," she replied. "But not in a long time. I sort of remember how to focus, but I might need practice."

"You'll be fine. You won't have to concentrate like you would if you actually had to change something. You'll just need to transmit enough of your energy into the machine to start it up. After that, it will operate for a while, because I constructed it to conserve and recycle your energy," he encouraged her. "Want to try?"

She wiggled her fingers at him to demonstrate her readiness, so he showed her the hand placement. She mimicked his pose and focused. Nothing happened.

"Close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths. You need to clear your mind," he whispered. She did as he suggested, and a couple of minutes later she replaced her hands. Her focus was much better, and the machine began to work again. Roy showed her how to place her hands to shut it down. He got up and plopped down on the blanket to study but looked up periodically to watch her work at being able to hit the moving targets. She seemed to be doing pretty well for her first time. As before, her concentration was impressive. After a while, Riza grew tired of shooting. Moving targets were much more draining than the stationary targets had been. It was late afternoon, anyway, so Riza shut the machine down. They made their way back to the house, each pleased with what he or she had accomplished. Riza unlocked the door and they entered. "Thanks, Roy," Riza said, and she kissed his pale cheek and walked toward the kitchen.

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**A/N**- When Roy talks about not being able to use alchemy to heal people, he's not really being ignorant. This takes place before Tim Marcoh uses his imperfect stone to cure ailments.

Thanks again for reading and for the reviews. Please keep them coming. They are my sunshine. I hope that you enjoyed this latest installment. I can't believe that I managed to get two chapters up so close together. I have a good start on chapter 4, so it may not be too long for that one either. After that, I'm not sure. I may have to work on a different project.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**- I thought that I'd have this chapter up sooner, because I had some of it done before I even began chapter 3. However, there was a pesky brain blockage.

I've decided that Amestris has a school year that stretches from September through June. (What do I know?) Therefore, Riza and Roy have the summer off (from school, at least), and Roy had arrived at the Hawkeyes' at the end of June, after he finished his school year. Roy's lessons with Mr. Hawkeye count as his science and math courses. During the school year, Roy must attend regular school classes in the morning for his other courses.

Caution! More chapter 87 spoilers below. Also, I am changing the rating to **T** due to adult-ish themes.

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"I hate school," Riza whispered harshly to Roy, "but I'd hate it more if it didn't get me out of this house. It's not that most of the classes are bad, though some are a big waste of time. My fellow students are the source of most of my pain. The popular kids hate me and make my life miserable."

"Hate you? You look like you'd could be one of the popular girls, because you're so pretty- um- or cute. Or pretty cute, Riza," Roy argued while trying to not blush while complimenting her. Riza looked down to hide her own blush. He continued, "You probably could be popular. Most of the popular girls at my old school weren't nearly as cute as you are. You'd just have to wear the right clothes and act cool- which can be acting mean." The boy was hoping that popularity wasn't high on Riza's list of essential things. He was a fairly shy kid, and he was hoping to start out at this new school with Riza as a friend. His few friends at the old school were boys who were outgoing and had befriended him. It had been unusual and difficult for him to be the one to befriend her, but it had been worth the risk. If she wanted to shoot for popularity, she'd have to ignore nerdy him.

"I guess that I don't really want to be with those girls. I don't like them. I just wish they wouldn't make fun of me all of the time," she sighed.

He was relieved that she didn't want to be popular, but he wondered what she was teased about. When he observed her, he didn't notice any of those traits that the princesses and bullies at his old school seemed to hone in on with their victims. You could almost pinpoint their victims before they were pounced upon. It was like they had targets tattooed on them. Riza was quiet and conservative, but she had never seemed to be the kind of person who was easily picked on. She didn't have that aura of weakness that attracted the predatory teenager. "What do they bother you about?" he asked.

"Well, most of all, my clothes. We can't afford to buy me many clothes, so I wear some of my mothers old things and try to sew others," she explained. He had noticed that her clothes weren't in style, and of course she wore pants sometimes. She still looked good. He knew that she'd never accept him transmuting clothes for her, so he didn't offer to do it. Still, un-cool clothes wouldn't be enough for a girl like Riza to be a target of the school elite.

"There's more, isn't there?" he demanded.

She looked about ready to cry. Riza. Cry. Those two words didn't belong together in the same sentence. She'd _complained _to him several times. After all, he was a witness to her home life, but she rarely showed such naked emotion. This was the thing that was really bothering her. "It's my father. Everyone thinks that he's crazy. They make up stories about him and his experiments. They say that he creates monsters. They say he caused my mother's death by neglecting her. They say things like he runs around naked under the full moon." She turned to Roy and continued, "They chant a rhyme:

_Stay away from crazy Hawkeye._

_If you get too close you'll die._

_If he lets you live you'll cry,_

'_Cause you'll be crazy too. Oh my!_

You know how he looks. He does look crazy. And he doesn't act totally sane either."

Roy stood there for a few beats but then stretched his arm around her to rub and pat her back. "Oh, Riza. I'm sorry. Your father is a brilliant man. He's eccentric and not very sociable, but he's not crazy. There's not much you could do to defend him to the popular kids, though. You just have to ignore them. Don't let them get to you. Don't let them see it bothers you. I know. It's easier said than done.

"You know, I'm the last person in the world who should lecture you, but least you have a father. In his own way, he loves you. He asked me to watch out for you at school. He must sense that you don't like it there. My foster mother is great. She's always taken good care of me and has taught me well. I wouldn't be here learning alchemy without her, but she's… embarrassing. There's something that I never told you." He was silent for several seconds while Riza patiently waited. "My foster mother runs a brothel. She's a madam. My "sisters" are prostitutes. How's that for fodder for meanness?

"They've always been great to me. For much of my life, I've gotten to live with all these wonderful women. They read to me and taught me how to read. They cleaned and bandaged my cuts and scrapes. They comforted me when I was sad. I know how great they are, but most people just think of them as _whores_. I should feel worse for them than I do for myself, but I'm too self-centered."

It was Riza's turn to comfort Roy. "Anyone who listens to you speak of them knows how much you care. I'd like to meet them some day. This is depressing. Want to change the subject?"

"Not a bad idea! Have you ever had a boyfriend?"

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"I asked you first."

"Who would go out with me?" she asked.

Roy was shocked. "Any guy who liked cute, smart, and kind girls. That's who!"

"Right. Father would never let me date anyway, and I don't have the time to date."

Those were facts. They both sighed. "We'll just have to support each other to get through school. Anyone gives you a problem, you tell me, and I'll help you take care of it," Roy promised.

"And if there's anything that I can do for you, Roy, all you have to do is ask," she vowed.

The first day of school was rainy. Roy didn't like the rain. He couldn't tell you why, but it depressed him. The weather seemed like a bad omen for his social success at the new school. He had hoped that going to a new school where he hadn't already been pigeonholed would give him a chance to fit in better. It's not that he had been picked on back home; he'd learned to take care of himself a long time ago. He'd just never felt that he belonged. Like Riza, he didn't want to be a popular kid either. They were not nice people. Roy had a theory that a person didn't change much as he or she grew older. He believed mean children became nasty grown ups. Adults always told kids how they should behave, but he'd seen adults do things that a kid would've gotten punished for. But that was neither here nor there. He had daydreamed that he'd walk into this new school and girls would like him and boys would respect him. He sighed. _At least I have Riza._

Riza had been downstairs early to prepare breakfast for all of them and lunch for her father. As much as she disliked school, she had always been glad when the summer vacation was over. Until this year. Having Roy around had been so great. She did have a few school friends, but she only got to see them at the school. Her obligations to her father always prevented her from joining them when they went shopping or to the movies. During the summers, she figured, she sometimes went weeks without having conversations other than with the merchants from whom she bought supplies. Summers had always been so lonely. Roy's presence had changed that. She hoped that he'd stay as long as possible. Learning alchemy could take years. She was a little less nervous about going back to school, in part because she'd be walking in with Roy, who aside from being her friend, was a very cute boy. He didn't realize how cute he was, and that made him cuter. He was a little scrawny, but anyone could tell that he was on his way to being _hot_. He had told her that no one at his old school had thought that he was cute, but she was positive that the girls in this school would go for him.

Riza wanted to not care about her looks. She wanted to feel that people should be judged on their behavior and accomplishments and not their physical beauty. Sometimes she actually had herself convinced. Other times, she couldn't imagine anything more important than having a pretty face and sexy figure. She knew that she looked a lot like her mother, and she knew that her mother had been pretty. Somehow, she believed, the same features had not turned out pretty on her. But Roy thought that she was pretty. Or at least he had said so. Being with him made her feel prettier.

Since the Hawkeye house was situated near the outskirts of town, Riza and Roy had a longish walk. They trudged through the puddles together under one umbrella. As they drew closer to the school, they were joined on the road by more and more students. Riza had planned to brief Roy on the most important players on the walk to school, but the rain hats and umbrellas shrouded faces to the point of anonymity.

The cacophony inside the school assaulted Riza's and Roy's ears. Other than the din created by Riza's target practice, their summer had been very tranquil. Even the trips into town to shop had been relatively noise-free. A look passed between them. "This way," she indicated, and they started to the office. Both observant teens were scanning the students in the hallway with Riza looking for her friends, and Roy sizing up his new environment. Once in the office, Riza introduced Roy to the secretary. She didn't have a class schedule yet, but she had been given a homeroom assignment at the end of last semester. She had planned to stay and lead Roy to his homeroom, but the secretary waved her away. She mouthed _good luck_ to him and set out for her homeroom.

All of Roy's paperwork had gone through smoothly, so the school was prepared for him. The secretary handed him a school handbook and his roster. She dismissed him with a, "Room 307. Up those stairs two flights. Go to your left. 307 will be on your right." Roy walked out of the office and into his new world. He hoped that the atmosphere was breathable.

The hallways had pretty much cleared while he was in the office. By the time he arrived at room 307, the homeroom teacher had already managed to subdue the students into their seats and reduce the roar into a murmur. Roy's entrance precipitated silence as the students took the time to size the new boy up.

"This is Roy Mustang," the teacher advised her charges. "He has recently moved here from Central. James, will you please show Roy the ropes today?" A kid who was not too much taller than Roy nodded and waved at Roy. The teacher motioned Roy into a seat in the middle of the class. To his right was a big blond boy who looked at Roy appraisingly. To his left was a pretty brunette who gave him a small smile. The homeroom teacher read a few announcements before the bell rang and they went off to first period.

They hadn't planned very well. Roy was only scheduled for four classes, and Riza had a full schedule. His classes were over at eleven- thirty. He had English, History, Foreign Language, and fourth period, which varied each day. It could be Art, Phys. Ed., or Hygiene. He had chosen Xingese as his foreign language, because, while he didn't really know, he believed that he must have Xingese blood. It was still raining at eleven-thirty, but he was glad that Riza had the umbrella. He rarely got sick, and a little drenching wouldn't hurt him despite its unpleasantness. He walked back to the Hawkeye's as rapidly as he could and presented himself to Teacher who glanced up and said, "Change your clothes, boy." Roy changed and hung his dripping garments up, put a basin under them, and returned to Mr. Hawkeye for his lesson.

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September waned into October, which faded into November. Both Roy and Riza had settled in and were doing well academically, but due to their age difference, they didn't get to see each other during school very much. James, the boy who had helped Roy his first day had become Roy's friend, and Roy often walked to the next class with Kira, the brunette who had smiled from the desk next to him that first day. Other girls had been nice to him, too, but Kira was enough for him. He had no time or money to take her out on a date, but they tried to spend some time together each day. She often brought him cookies she had baked. Riza also had won an admirer. Paul, like Roy, a new kid, had taken a shine to her. He favored her with little gifts from nature that he found. There were shiny rocks, pretty leaves, wild flowers, and acorns. She kept them in a box in her locker.

Posters announcing the Harvest Dance festooned the hallway walls.

"Paul asked me to the dance," Riza told Roy. "I told him _no_."

"Why did you do that? You should go. I'd ask Kira if I could earn any money, but I don't have time."

"I don't have an appropriate dress. I don't even know if Father'd let me go."

"So ask him."

"I don't know how to dance."

Roy smiled. "One of the advantages to living with a house full of working women is that I was in high demand as a dancing partner. I'll teach you. Go ask your father."

They each had a shock in store for them. Mr. Hawkeye agreed to let Riza go to the dance on the condition that Roy also attend. He told Riza that she could go into town and buy a dress, though he did set a low spending limit. He told Roy that he, Hawkeye, would pay both for Roy's tickets and for flowers for Kira. Roy asked Kira the next day, and she accepted. Riza told Paul that she would go with him. The dance lessons commenced. Of course, Riza caught on immediately. She'd always had excellent coordination, and her powers of concentration served her well. Riza and Roy adjourned to the living room each night after doing the dishes and cranked up the record player. It was the first time that Roy had danced with a partner close to his own age, and he found it to be very nice. Riza hadn't thought that she'd go for dancing, because it had seemed so lovey-dovey to her. _Not bad_, she mused. _One should always keep an open mind._

Mr. Hawkeye had agreed that that his daughter and the boy could go to the dance separately. The night of the dance, Paul came to get Riza while Roy walked to Kira's. He was glad that he had gotten her a wrist corsage, because he didn't think that he could have pinned one onto the bodice of her dress. (He had learned about women's clothes from his "sisters.") Roy and Kira arrived at the school gymnasium first. The gym was awash with autumn colors, and the congregated teenagers were aglow with excitement. It was the first dance for many of them. The band had already begun playing, so Roy and his date began to dance. Kira knew the steps and was a more than adequate partner, but she didn't have Riza's grace. Roy wanted to keep an eye out for Riza, so he pivoted Kira in order to have a better view of the door. He had seen Riza's dress on her, but she had not finished preparing before he had left the house. He had yet to see the entire effect. Kira and Roy were into their second dance when Paul led Riza into the gym. Roy almost didn't recognize the girl, who had managed to arrange her short choppy hair into an elegant style. She had pinned the flowers that Paul had given her so that she appeared to be wearing a floral tiara. Roy felt a burst of pride in her and maybe a small pang of self-pity. Then there was resolve. Teacher must never know that Roy's feelings for Riza were not always those of a big brother. He'd be kicked out of the Hawkeye house in a millisecond, ruining both his friendship with Riza and his career as an alchemist.

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**A/**N- I had wanted to have Maes be the boy whom the teacher assigned to help Roy the first school day, but that would mean that Riza would have had to have known him before they were in the military. Based on the manga and anime, I don't feel that I can make that assumption.

Thank you for reading my story so far. It still amazes me that anyone likes it! What I like are reviews! More, please. Thanks to all of my readers and reviewers, but especially to cHoc0' caT, crazy2696, Dark-Lady-Hel, and My-name-is-foxglove, all of whom have been especially encouraging.

I have no idea what comes next. Please bear with me.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N- As you all should know, I do not, I repeat (since I forgot to include this disclaimer with the last chapter) DO NOT own _Fullmetal Alchemist_. If I did, it would be called _Flame Alchemist_.

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Riza had been permitted to go to the Harvest Dance with a boy, but she was not otherwise permitted to date. Not only was she too young (according to her father), but Mr. Hawkeye needed her around the house after school. Even her going to school was inconvenient for him. So, except for the companionship that Roy Mustang managed to provide for her at home, Riza had to get all of her friendship and fun at school. (Mr. Hawkeye had been nearly monopolizing Roy since school had begun. Apparently Roy's attending school was inconvenient for Mr. Hawkeye, too.)

Paul's interest in Riza had raised her currency with students who had previously ridiculed her, but Riza couldn't have cared less. She valued her faithful and long-time girl friends, and she was polite but distant with the girls who wanted to befriend her because Paul was so good-looking. She was spending more and more time with Paul, and that cut into her time with her girl friends. (They seemed to understand.) Since Riza and Paul only met at school, they were never alone, but somehow an intimacy was growing between them. Public displays of affection were not permitted in the school, but Paul had held Riza's hand under the lunch table.

One day, as they were walking to class, Paul told Riza, "My parents said that I could have a friend over for dinner, so I'm asking you." Riza was startled, because Paul knew that she couldn't date. "Do you think that your father would allow you to do that?"

"I don't know, but I'll ask if and when he's in a good mood." She made a face. "He only let me go to the dance if Roy went." Not that that had been a bad thing. She and Roy had danced two dances together. With all of the practicing that they had done in the living room, they had become pretty comfortable partners. Dancing with Paul had been very nice, but the steps were much easier in Roy's arms.

"Yeah, but don't forget that my parents will be there. That's a one to one chaperone to kid ratio. That should convince him."

Riza smiled. "It might. It just might."

Paul smiled back and lowered his voice, "Don't tell your father, but there is a chance that my parents might not be with us every second."

_What does that mean? He wants to be alone with me? Maybe he wants to kiss! I don't know how to do boy/ girl kissing. Roy will know what to do! I hope. _

When she got home, she could hear her father's raised voice forcing its way through the closed study door. _Uh oh. Had Roy done something wrong, or was Father just in a bad mood?_ Roy always did his assignments and studied hard, but her father was not always satisfied with his pupil. Just like he was rarely satisfied with his daughter. She started cutting vegetables for stew. She browned the cheap and scant supply of meat and threw it in the pot with the vegetables. After adding a few spices, she sat at the kitchen table to do her homework while the stew simmered. Her father's yelling cut through the silence yet again. There was no way that tonight was going to be the optimum time to ask about Paul's invitation.

It was about an hour after she got home when Roy emerged from the study. When he saw her watching him from her seat at the kitchen table (and after he quietly closed the study door) he pretended to stagger, and then he added a gagging face. It was so funny that she snickered. Roy continued the staggering into the kitchen and sat across the table from Riza. He shook his head and sobered up.

"You heard?" he asked. She nodded. "I don't know what set him off. I don't think it was me. He was already in a pretty bad mood when I got back from school. I highly recommend that you avoid him at all costs. With any luck, he'll avoid us and eat dinner in the study."

Riza sighed. "I wanted to ask him permission to do something. Paul invited me to eat dinner at his house. His parents will be there. I think that there is a chance that Father will let me go since it's more like a play date than a real date." She looked at Roy for his opinion.

He nodded. "He might go for it. It'll be worth a try but not tonight. Do you have to tell Paul tomorrow?"

"I don't think so," she replied. "I'll explain the situation to him." She paused. "There's something else."

Roy was silent, but his coal black eyes invited Riza to continue.

Riza lowered her voice. She suddenly had a crazy idea that her father could have done some alchemy to eavesdrop on everything that she and Roy said. _Was that even possible? Why had that never occurred to her before?_ _Now that's just paranoia, isn't it?_ She pushed that unwanted thought away and told Roy that Paul had implied that they might manage some time alone.

Roy raised an eyebrow. "What do you think he has in mind?"

"I think that he'll want to kiss."

Roy nodded. "I'm sure he will." _I would._

"That's a problem. I don't know how to kiss. You know what I mean. I don't know how to kiss a boy."

Roy was silent for a couple of seconds. "Me neither." He paused for effect. "

I've never kissed a boy and don't know how to do it," he said with that maddening smirk.

She grabbed the wooden stirring spoon from the table and whacked his arm, causing him to emit a small yelp.

"Hey. That's not fair. I get pummeled and you get to make out. Have mercy, woman."

"Actually, you get to make out, too," Riza corrected him. "I need to practice before I do it with Paul."

Roy gaped at her to stunned to speak.

"Well?" she asked. "Are you going to help me?"

"I don't think that it's such a good idea," Roy squeaked when he was finally able to make a sound.

Riza looked at him in a calculating way that seemed much too mature for a thirteen-year-old. She was thinking that he'd be easy to manipulate. "Oh, I get it. You've never kissed Kira. You don't know how to kiss either," she accused.

"Shut up! That's not true! I'm a great kisser." Well, he wasn't really certain of that, but he had kissed Kira a few times in the stairwell at school. She hadn't complained about his skills.

Riza smiled. "If that's so, you'd be the best one to show me what to do. If it's not so, if you don't know how to kiss," she smiled more widely, "it would be a good idea for you to practice on me so you don't totally gross Kira out when you finally decide to make your move." _Gotcha, Mr. Mustang. Talk your way out of that argument._

Roy sighed in defeat. "We'll have to go somewhere where your father has a zero probability of seeing us. It's too cold for the woods. Have you got any ideas?"

"I'll figure it out. Hey, Roy, do you think that my father could use alchemy to listen in on our conversations?" She could see Roy's skin turning a whiter shade of pale.

"That's one of the scariest thoughts that I've ever heard. I hope that I can sleep tonight," Roy gasped. "I don't think so, though. I don't think that he thinks about us as people all that much."

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The next day, Mr. Hawkeye was in (what was for him) a good mood. Riza's request to eat with Paul's family was granted, and she reminded Roy about the kissing lessons.

She hadn't been able to come up with any protected practice place, so they settled on the living room. Mr. Hawkeye would not expect any hanky panky in that open space. He rarely went there, and they brought along schoolbooks as props. Roy considered transmuting an alchemic early warning system, but he decided that it was more likely that Mr. Hawkeye would discover it and be suspicious than it was for the alarm to protect them.

They had each (and without consulting the other) availed themselves of toothpaste and mouth wash, as they were both considerate teens. They nervously arranged themselves on the sofa. "Ready?" he asked.

Roy deepened his voice and said, "Now pay attention girl, I'm only going to show you once." It was such a perfect imitation of her father's voice and manner that Riza's lips twitched into a grin. Having gotten the reaction that he desired, Roy made his move. He tilted his head a little to the right and moved swiftly, but gently, towards Riza. His lips zeroed in perfectly on their target and caressed the girl's slightly open mouth. Her eyes had crinkled closed when she smiled, but they flew open at his touch. Her heart skipped a beat as she gazed into his eyes that exuded warmth in spite of their blackness. She was surprised that his mouth on hers was opened a little. She had thought that all kisses must be done with pursed lips. He took a breath and pressed a little harder, and she pressed back, following his lead by not closing her mouth. Roy pulled back and smiled gently at her. He slowly leaned towards her again, and as he hoped, she also leaned in. This time, he let her plant the kiss, and he responded. Their lips lingered, and once again, Roy pulled back. "What do you think?" he asked.

"You were right," she stated.

"I was right about what?" He looked confused.

"You _are_ a good kisser," she explained.

He blushed but said, "You're pretty good for a beginner yourself."

They discussed nose, mouth, and hand placement and experimented a little in those areas, frequently pausing to listen for Riza's father. After a very pleasant while, Roy separated from Riza and blushed a little. Riza looked at him quizzically and waited for him to proceed.

He still felt unsure, but he didn't want her to be taken by surprise. "You're kind of young for it, but there is a type of kiss that he might try on you. It's pretty serious."

_What could he possibly be talking about? _"Will it hurt?" she queried.

"Oh, no. No. No. It's wonderful. I just think that you are too young for it."

"I'm only two years younger than you are."

"Two and-a-half! And they're important years."

"Just show me, Roy. I need to know," Riza insisted.

The boy nodded and moved towards the girl. The kiss started out pretty much like the other kisses had. Riza kissed Roy back, closed her eyes, and waited for whatever this serious move of his would be. Suddenly, she felt the tip of his tongue gently touching the tip of hers. Once she recovered from being so startled, she cautiously pushed back with her tongue. Just as they each began to press a little harder, they heard a click and managed to pull apart and open their books just as Mr. Hawkeye emerged from his study. He nodded at his daughter and his student and ducked into the kitchen. Roy took that opportunity to excuse himself from Riza so that he could study in private.

Paul's parents welcomed Riza warmly. She had dressed in one of her least frayed outfits, and she tried to behave in an outgoing and happy manner. It wasn't easy. She had good manners and knew how to behave around adults, but she had never been much of a smiler. She had been accused of being too solemn and even of having no sense of humor, but that was not true. She just had a selective sense of humor. She often found Paul to be funny; it was ones of the things that she liked about him. Roy could almost always crack her up when he wanted to. As Paul was telling his parents about Riza's various accomplishments, she realized that she had never told him about her shooting. She'd been working with Roy's gizmo, and she had become very accurate with moving targets. She was wondering how she could earn a living as a good shot when she realized that Paul and his folks were staring at her and calling her name. She apologized for her lack of attention and replied to their question.

After dinner, she began to help Paul's mother clear the table, but Paul tugged her away and told her that he wanted to show her his room. His palm felt a little sweaty. _This is it _she thought. He actually had a really great room. He had a chess set out, and a telescope by the window. He had lots of books-mostly novels. The Hawkeyes mostly had alchemy texts. After giving her the "tour," he sat on the bed and patted the spot next to him. She hopped up on the bed too, and Paul took her hand. "I really like you, Riza," Paul remarked.

"I like you too, Paul," Riza reciprocated, turning to face him. "This is my best year of school ever, and a lot of it is due to you."

Paul interpreted Riza's declaration as permission to display his affection, so he put his arm around her and moved in for the kiss. There was some nose bumping, but they managed. Paul clearly did not know as much about the subject as Roy, but Riza cut him some slack for being two years younger than her kissing teacher. He improved a little with Riza's guidance, but she was relieved that he didn't try the tongue thing (which Roy had called a _Xingese kiss_). A few minutes later, Paul's mother called for them to come down and eat dessert.

All in all, Riza thought that the evening had gone really well. Paul walked her home. She went into the kitchen to clean up after her father and Roy, but someone (and she was sure that she knew which one) had already taken care of things. She climbed the steps quickly so that she could thank Roy and tell him about the evening, but as she approached his door, she saw a _Please Do Not Disturb _sign taped up. She turned away and walked to her bedroom.

**A/N**- Thanks again for all of your reviews. Who knew that I'd live for reviews? (Hint!) There are a couple of other incidents that R & R have mentioned. I'll try to tell you about them soon.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**- I think that everyone knows that I am not the owner or creator of _Fullmetal Alchemist_. I just love the characters so much that they seem alive to me.

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Roy sulked in his room. Not sulked, _brooded_, he corrected himself. Well, maybe both. He did have tendencies towards both, but if he was going to put a name to his mood, he felt that _brooded_ sounded cooler. He had heard Riza come up the steps, and he believed that he had _felt_ her pause before his door. He imagined her flushed and starry eyed from the kisses with her boyfriend. These thoughts bothered him, and _that _bothered him. He should want Riza to be happy with Paul. Paul was a good kid: cute, smart, and nice. He'd given Riza the confidence that she should have had all along. He'd even changed the way that many of the kids had viewed Riza. Or maybe Riza had done that herself. She was softer around Paul. Less defensive and defiant.

And he had no reason to be jealous. Kira was sweet and pretty. She was even actually a popular girl, and why she had taken that immediate shine to him still seemed inexplicable. He was not part of that group and would never be. He didn't really want to be, but they treated him with cheerful tolerance, which was pretty decent considering he had little in common with them except for Kira's friendship. He did enjoy his and Kira's relationship and was grateful for it, but even at his young age, he knew that she did not possess many of the characteristics that he might want in a girl. She could be kind of clingy, and she'd rather read fashion magazines than anything else. He knew that it did not really matter at this time in his life; he wasn't old enough to be looking for a life partner. Plus, when he looked at Mr. Hawkeye, Roy wondered if an alchemist should even marry and have a family. Roy could see himself becoming like Teacher, obsessed and isolated, even though he knew that he wanted his alchemy to have more practical applications, to directly help people. There was also a part of Roy that wanted to possess that single-minded drive that Mr. Hawkeye had.

He should feel happier. He was accepted at school, had a great alchemy teacher, and was dating a nice girl. He was here to learn. He should be studying, but he was being distracted by a prickly thirteen-year-old who was practically like a sister. A tough girl who had smacked him pretty hard with a wooden spoon. He was lucky that she hadn't shot at him when she was mad. He had spent so much time around businesswomen. Women who could take care of themselves. _Strong_ women. That must be why he couldn't get his mind off of that intelligent and quietly feisty Riza.

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_That sign on Roy's door was for me. He didn't want to see _me_. He would never have sent Father away. It had to be for me. That really hurts_. She was sitting in her room. She had really wanted to talk to him. It was an after-dinner ritual to wash dishes and chat. The date had been nice, and the kissing had been fine, but as much as she liked Paul, it all had been nothing to write home about. It wasn't even the date that she had wanted to talk about. It was just him that she wanted to talk to. _I've become too used to his company. Who knows how long he'll stay? I shouldn't need or want his company. _

She wondered why he was giving her the cold shoulder. Had she done something to upset him, or had something happened with Father? Maybe he was having trouble with his assignment and just didn't want to be interrupted. Not likely. He had always made time for her. She was tempted to knock anyway. She could offer him a snack. That would be a good excuse. No. She'd better not. She changed into her nightgown, flopped onto her bed, and read herself to sleep.

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He was up before her the next morning and already in the kitchen eating a dry piece of toast. "Is everything okay, Roy? I didn't want to bother you, but I missed talking to you last night," Riza greeted the boy.

"Umm. Yeah. Everything's fine. How was your date?"

"It was fine. Paul's folks were nice to me, and I tried to act like a proper young lady for them. Kind of a lost cause, but I made the effort for Paul. He has a telescope in his room and a chess set. We played some chess. Do you play chess?"

"Nope."

"Well, I can teach you. Father taught me back when…well, I know how to play. Paul is thinking about starting a chess club. I said that I'd be in it if Father allows me. You could join, too. I bet you'd be good at chess."

"I can't join a club since I leave school early."

"Oh. That's right. Too bad. You should still let me teach you to play. You'd like it. I think that Father would approve. It's good training for the mind. Now, don't you want to know whether or not I used the new skills you taught me?"

"It's really none of my business." He grabbed his books and left the kitchen. She heard the front door slam. He was walking to school without her. _What was that all about? All I did was ask him if he… Oh!_

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He felt ashamed of himself. He was really being mean to Riza. He didn't even quite understand why he was behaving this way. Kira didn't live on the way to school, but he had left early enough that he thought he could catch her when she left if he walked quickly enough. He would try to steer the conversation toward discussing the chapters that they had read for literature. He had found the book to be very interesting. It was about a man who was not strong enough to do what he thought was the right thing. The man was in a terrible situation and was being forced to do what he considered immoral acts. But was he being forced, or did he really have a choice? It was a morality tale, but it seemed too real to him. He stepped up his pace. If nothing else, the exertion would help him work off some of his angry energy. As he approached Kira's house, he saw some of her girlfriends coming from the opposite direction. Why had he thought that he could walk to school with her alone? She always walked with her gang of girls. He ducked behind a tree as they walked up the path to Kira's house. Kira emerged from the front door looking impossibly cute but somehow not all that attractive to Roy. _What is wrong with me?_ He moved around the tree to remain concealed as they passed. They were conversing really loudly, almost shrieking. Riza's voice was always low, both in pitch and loudness. Once they were a half of a block away, he jogged away at a right angle to their path. He'd take a different route.

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Riza rapped softly on the study door with one hand, her father's breakfast tray in the other. "Enter," Mr. Hawkeye mumbled. Riza put down the tray and hesitated. "Father, may I ask you something?"

"Make it quick, Riza," the alchemist said as he looked up at his daughter.

"Father, I've discovered that Mr. Mustang doesn't know how to play chess. I was wondering if you thought that it might be a good thing for him to learn. You always told me that it teaches a person to think logically and strategically. Could learning chess help him be a better alchemist?" Riza crossed her fingers that she had chosen her words well.

The sharp focus of her father's eyes seemed to become even more pointed. "That's an excellent idea, Riza. I would like you to spend a half-hour each day teaching Mr. Mustang the game. Once he learns the moves, the two of you should play at least one game each day until further notice. That will be all."

"Yes, Father," Riza agreed. She left the study, grabbed her book bag, and sprinted out of the house. She was going to be a little late for school, but Roy could not totally ignore her now.

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"By the way, boy, my daughter is going to teach you to play chess. Chess is a game of strategy, and to play it well, one must sharpen many skills of the mind. It will be very good training for you," Mr. Mustang casually mentioned to Roy. "Some alchemists merely copy or memorize seals and arrays. A good alchemist can modify the circles to do different things. A better alchemist can pull attributes from various sources together to create something new. A great alchemist can anticipate what will be needed and can create the proper array extemporaneously. I can teach you the various elements, the building blocks, but chess will help you learn how to anticipate." He gestured Roy away, so Roy thanked him and left. _Great_, he thought, _Just what I need. More time with Riza. Like she's not on my mind enough. _

He peeked into the kitchen, and of course, she was there making dinner. He wondered if any other kids at school had to go home and clean house or cook dinner. "Your father says that you are to teach me chess. When do you want to do it?"

"After we do the dishes, we can start. Does that work for you?" she asked.

"Yes. Okay." He had thought about not helping her with the dishes, but he knew that that would be just _wrong_. She had an awful lot to do around the house, and now she had the added burden of teaching him the stupid game. Helping with the dishes was the least that he could do. He started to leave the kitchen to go to his room to study, but on the way out, her voice trailed him. "You're going to like chess, Roy." _We'll see_, he thought.

He barely mumbled a _thank you_ when she served him, but Riza was prepared for when he was still quiet and surly at dinner. She had a novel that she pulled out from a drawer and read as they ate. It made him even more miserable to sit there with her without talking, even with him knowing that it was all his own doing. He couldn't take it. "So how was school today?" he finally asked her with a forced casualness.

She forced back both a raised eyebrow and a sarcastic comment, because she was basically a kind girl. "It was okay. Literature was really good, but math was only fair. I'll never understand why we need to do equations. It seems enough to be able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide," she remarked.

"Well, you need them in alchemy. Also, equations are really just another way of expressing what you want to add, subtract, multiply, or divide. But I know that a lot of people don't like them. I can help you with yours whenever you want," he offered.

"Thanks," she said. "I may take you up on that." They both got up, clearing the table, and they began to do the dishes. Things were almost normal between them.

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She gave him the black pieces and told him to set them up like she was doing except to switch the king and queen. She named each piece as she pointed to it. Then, she began to explain how each piece moved. "Oh. I thought that it would be more like checkers," he exclaimed. His eyes had that weird look that they would sometimes get. He looked like he was paying attention and dreaming at the same time. She couldn't control her small smirk. He was so easy to control when you knew what would grab him. Of course, he caught on right away. They played a game, and she beat him easily, but he was already mumbling, "Ah. When you moved your bishop, I should have …" He begged for a second game, and when they played it he was already much more difficult to beat. He wanted to play a third game, but she told him that it was time to do their homework. She had her schoolbooks nearby, and she set up to study at the kitchen table. He left without saying anything and went upstairs to his room. She sighed. At least there had been an improvement. Then she heard the sound of his shoeless feet descending the stairs. He had his books, and he settled across the table from her. "Just give a yell if you want me to help you with those equations," he told her as he began reading.

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**A/N- **I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to post. I've kind of run out of steam, but there should be at least one more chapter. Thanks and more thanks to you readers, and cherry-on-the-top thanks to my reviewers, subscribers, and people who have put this as a Favorite Story. Please review. All reviews will be appreciated.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N- **As everyone knows, I am not the creator of _Fullmetal_ _Alchemist_

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One of their favorite times of the day was the walk to school. (Roy never stalked off alone again.) It had been too cold to hang out in the woods, so the walk was a good way for them to spend time together away from the repressive house. The walk even seemed to nourish their spirits. Riza, whose organized practicality made her carry a schedule in her head, had Roy figuratively inked in at both the beginning and end of the day. Roy just knew that walking to school with her and later doing the dishes somehow grounded him. He tended to daydream, and she brought him back to earth, _usually_ in a good way.

Roy had tried to teach chess to Kira, and she had absolutely hated the game. After awhile, he decided that getting to kiss a pretty girl in the stairwell wasn't worth the effort of listening to her babble on about clothes, makeup, and hairstyles. He managed to break up with her in such a charming manner that she told her girlfriends how sorry she felt for "that poor, sweet boy." The word spread that Kira and Roy were no longer a couple, and he began to notice that books would be dropped near him as he walked down the hallway or that he might get jostled. "Sorry, Roy," the girl might say as patted his cheek or brushed his arm. He would find notes slipped into his locker. Some were on notebook paper, some were saturated with perfume, and the most interesting one (in appearance, not content) was written on origami paper and then folded into a swan. He enjoyed the attention, and he walked several different girls to classes. A few of them might have steered him toward the stairwell. It all worked for him. Variety was the spice of life.

Paul did organize a chess club, and Riza, whose father could never say "no" where chess was concerned, joined. Paul had talked the math teacher into letting him teach the game in class, and a couple of kids who hadn't ever shown much of an interest in anything school-related seemed to find something in the game. They weren't exactly the best-behaved students, and the chess club meetings became as energetic and noisy as a street corner. Kids who were used to playing the quieter version of the game quickly adapted, and new friends were made. The rest of the students were baffled as to what exactly those smart kids and bad kids were doing in that room together without producing any casualties.

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"What's the matter, shrimp? Can't reach your widdle fiddle?" One of the older and bigger kids was holding a violin above his head while two of his cronies shoved a younger and smaller boy back and forth between them. "Oh. Oh. What if I accidentally dropped it?" The big boy let go of the violin and caught it, bumping a peg and loosening a string in the process. "Check the baby's pockets. Maybe he'd like to treat us to lunch," the bully continued.

"Excuse me," Roy interrupted. He approached the bully, and the two boys who had been shoving the victim paused to watch the new entertainment. "I don't believe that the violin is yours. I can't quite imagine you playing it. Why don't you just be nice, give it back, and leave the kid alone?" Roy asked in a fairly reasonable voice. A crowd had begun to gather to watch the original fracas, but Roy Mustang's involvement brought in additional viewers. Roy was known to be wiry and no pushover, but the bully had a couple of inches and several pounds on Roy. The bully, whose name was Rudy Marshall, initially shocked that anyone would interfere with his activities, turned to Roy with a scowl.

"This is none of your business, Mustang. Get out of here before I smash your face in. The girls won't like you so much then."

"Gee. I asked you so nicely, and you're threatening me," Roy replied mildly. He wondered if anyone could see his heart pounding in his chest. All of his attention was on the larger boy, and he didn't notice Riza joining the crowd. "You're right that it's not exactly my business, but I was kind of curious why it took three big kids to beat up one little kid. A fair fight is one thing, but this…" He made an encompassing gesture. "What did you think that this little guy was going to do to you that you had to go and get two reinforcements?"

Once Rudy figured out that Roy had called him a coward, he growled and took a swing at Roy with the violin. The small boy gasped as he heard his instrument whoosh through the air. But Roy had anticipated something like this. He had seen these big boys pick on smaller ones, and he had planned to intervene. He knew that he'd never be able to succeed in a fair fight, so he had planned to fight a little dirty himself. No one was going to get hurt, if he could help it, but he did have something in reserve that could cause a little pain.

It didn't appear that anyone had noticed the paper that Roy had dropped onto the floor nor the intricate circle drawn onto it. Surely no one noticed the paper with a very different circle in Roy's left hand. Roy grabbed Rudy's wrist with both hands, stopping the swing and activating the array. After a blue flash, an icy cold began to numb the bully's hand, and he released the instrument. Roy was ready for that, too. He caught it with his right hand, gave it to the smaller boy, and said, "Go. Scram." The boys who had been harassing the little kid weren't the types to think for themselves, and it didn't occur to them to pursue the violinist. Roy then let go of the bully's wrist with his left hand and pulled yet another paper from his pocket. Rudy took a swing at Roy, who dodged a little to the right, forcing Rudy to step to his left and onto the paper that had been dropped on the floor.

Roy clapped the new paper between his palms. He was pretty excited about it. This paper combined two new alchemical skills that he had just learned. The first one was from a lesson that Mr. Hawkeye had given him. He had assigned Roy to research remote activation of arrays. Roy's research had revealed that one could activate a transmutation circle from a distance with an array designed only for activating the main circle. _Who knew that such a thing was possible_? Roy had thought. The second thing was something that he had been fooling around with on his own. Roy had noticed that it was sometimes awkward to activate a transmutation circle. One had to put the array on a surface and properly place his hands. Roy had come up with the idea for a two-sided array. He'd tried drawing perfectly matching circles on both sides of the paper, but that hadn't worked. By a fluke, he discovered that if the ink or whatever was used to draw the array soaked into the paper from each side so that both circles made contact within the paper, he could activate the array by clapping it between his hands. So, that's what he did, and the array between his hands activated the circle on the floor.

Somehow this time the blue light triggered something with the bigger of Rudy's two goons. He began to lunge toward Roy, who was concentrating on his transmutation and Rudy. Suddenly, the charging boy found himself flat on his face. Riza took a step back into the crowd.

The transmutation that Roy had triggered remotely was a simple untying and retying of the bully's shoelaces. Only, the retying part tied Rudy's two shoes together, for all practical purposes immobilizing him. The crowd erupted into applause. It had been a good show, plus many of them had been terrorized by the gang.

"You're gonna pay for this, Mustang. I'm coming after you!" yelled Rudy.

"And I'll be ready, Rudy." A few members of the audience snickered, and Roy gently rubbed the paper in his hand, causing it to emit a couple of blue sparks. "I guess that I'm not as good at making a point as I thought I was." Roy continued flicking blue sparks as he spoke. "Why don't you look for another hobby to replace beating up people weaker than you? I've heard that knitting can be fun. You'll be much happier."

"You're dead, Mustang!"

"Consider my advice, Marshall," said Roy as he turned toward the crowd and spotted the person he wanted to talk to. "I believe that I owe you, Riza."

"I didn't think that you noticed," she replied.

"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw your cute little…"

"Shut up, Roy. You're not talking to one of your brainless little girlfriends. But you are welcome. You were trying to do something good, so I helped you," Riza told him.

"Well, thanks for tripping that hulk, Riza. I had things under control, but I'm glad that you had my back." _And you do have cute little feet._

"Under control?" she scoffed. "You took a stupid chance." _You _need_ someone to watch your back. It may as well be me._

"See you at home, Riza.

"Try to stay out of trouble, Roy."

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**A/N-** Well, I think that this is the end of the story. I tried to tie it up by showing that Roy and Riza were on their ways to becoming the adult Roy and Riza whom we know and love. (Especially Roy!3) Roy wants to help people, but he sometimes goes about it in a slightly rash manner. Riza is already quietly protecting Roy while not allowing him to get away with any B/S. They have bonded, but they can't get it together- at the time of this story for reasons different than they'll have later- to have the type of bond that they really secretly want. Of course, I still hope that Arakawa will make R & R happy together by the end of FMA.

Much thanks to all who have read my story, put it on alert, reviewed it, or made it a favorite. (May I have one more review from each of you? Please?) I'm a novice fanfiction writer, and it was soooo wonderful to have you giving me positive reinforcement. I've begun writing another Roy and Riza tale that should be very different from this one. It's A/U. Roy plays bass in a band, and Riza works in an embassy. If I can get it together, it will be mostly action and adventure. And Royai. (Neither of them will be in need of kissing lessons!) I hope that I can write it and that you read it and like it.

Take care, everyone!


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